Combined seaming and pinking machine



Oct. 12, 1937.

HLc: MOULTON" COMBINED SEAMING AND PINKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 4, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet l flaziey 611mm,

Oct. 12, 1937. H, c, MOULTQN 2,095,570

COMBINED SEAMING AND PINKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 4, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mul -51m Oct. 12, 1937. H. c. MOULTON 2,095,570

COMBINED SEAMING- AND PINKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 4, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Oct. 12, 1937 UNITED STATES COMBINED SEAMI NG AND PINKING CHINE Harley C. Moulton, Map Lewis Invisible Stitch lewood, Mo., assignor to Machine Company, St.

Louis, Mo., a corporation of Maine Application November 4,

1936, Serial No. 109,175

8 Claims. (01. 112-122) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in combined seaming and pinking machines, and is directed more specifically to improvements over my co-pending application Se rial No. 40,511, filed Sept. 13, 1935.

Among the several objects of this invention are to simplify the construction of the means for maintaining the cutting edges, of the knife in yieldable cutting relation with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, and to provide a manually operable means separate from said yieldable means for positively moving the knife out of cutting relation with the ledger blade and for retaining said knife in its adjusted and inoperative position.

With these and other objects in view which will more fully appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by following the description, the appended claims, and the several views'illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:-

Figure l is a front elevation of a combined seaming and pinking machine constructed in accordance with my invention,

Figure 2 is an enlarged rear elevation of the pinking attachment,

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken therethrough,

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken directly below the cutter arm,

Figure 5 isan enlarged front elevation of the attachment,

Figure 6 is an enlarged front elevation of the left hand end of the attachment,

Figure 7 is an enlarged rear elevation of the cutter arm showing a modification,

Figure 8 is a front elevation thereof,

Figure 9 is an enlarged rear elevation of the cutter arm showing another modification, and

Figure 10 is a front elevation thereof.

Like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, the sewing machine A includes a work support 5, a standard 6 projecting upwardly from the right hand end of the work support, an overhanging arm 1 extending laterally from the upper end of the standard 6, and a head 8 mounted on the free end of the overhanging arm I. Journaled in the upper end of the standard 6 and the overhanging arm- I is a main driving shaft 9 and mounted for vertical reciprocations in the head 8 is a needle bar 55 ill which carries a needle H, the needle bar being reciprocated from the main shaft through the medium of the usual driving connections whereby the needle is reciprocated oncefor every rotation of the main shaft.

vMounted on the work support 5 directly below the head 8 is a throat plate 12 having the usual needle opening therein, and also provided with feed slots l3 for receiving a feed dog 14, the needle being adapted to cooperate with a loop taker (not. shown) of any desired character for the purpose of forming stitches. A presser bar i5 is yieldably supported in the head 8 in the usual manner. and carries at its lower end a presser foot I 6.

Mounted on the work support 5 directly under the overhanging arm 1 is a base l1. This base is adjustable toward and from the needle II and is removably held on the work support in any adjusted position by means of the single clamping bolt l8. A cutter arm or support I9 is piv otally mounted on the base I! through the 'medium of a transverse horizontal pivot pin 20, the pivot being located at the end of the base opposite the needle H. The base I! is provided at its end opposite the pivot 20 with two forwardly extending arms 2|, 2! to which is attached by means of screws 22, 22 a stationary or ledger blade 23 having a Vshaped cutter opening 26 formed therein and forming resultant converging cutting edges, the apex of the V projecting toward the needle H. Mounted in the free end of the cutter arm I 9 is a transverse horizontal bearing pin 25 disposed in parallelism with the pivot 20, and journaled on this pin is a depending cutter arm 26 having a V-shaped cutter blade or knife 27 attached thereto by a clamping bolt 28, said knife having converging cutting edges adapted for cooperation with the converging cutting edges of the ledger blade. The cutter arm, and consequently the knife 21, is normally inclined downwardly and forwardly toward the needle I I. The angle of the ledger blade opening 24 is slightly greater than the angle prescribed by the cutting walls or edges of the movable blade or knife 21, as described and shown in the Gruman Patent 1,891,308 and the Popper Patent 1,922,453. Guide lugs 29, 29 are integral with and extend upwardly from the ledger blade 23 on opposite sides of the opening 26 and serve to maintain the cutting members in alinement, as described 50 in the Popper patent heretofore mentioned.

It is desirable during cutting action to retain the cutting edges of the knife in yieldable contact with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, as explained in the Gruman Patent 1,891,308 supra.

I knife 21 in proper timed relation to the needle To this end, I have provided a yieldable connection between the knife arm 26 and the pivot. end of the cutter arm l9. This connection comprises a link 30 of flat spring steel which is connected at one end by a screw 3| to the upper end of the knife arm 26, a coil spring 32 which has one end connected to the link, and a tensioning means 33 which is mounted on the cutter arm l9 and is connected to the other end of the spring. If the end of the spring were engaged in an opening in the fiat spring steel link, there would be a tendency for the end of the link to break through, and in order to avoid this possibility, I attach a connecting lug or extension piece 34 to the link by means of a clamping plate 35 and a clamping screw 36, the screw passing through alined openings in the link 3|] and the extension piece 34 and engaging threadably in the clamping plate 35. The extension piece, beyond the link, is provided with an opening 31 forreceiving the end of the coil spring 32. To all intents and purposes, the link is di-' rectly connected to the spring, and is devoid of an intermediate lever as shown in my co-pending application above identified. The tensioning means 33 is the same as shown in my co-pending application and comprises a threaded eye 38 which is slldably mounted in a longitudinal opening 39 formed in the pivot end of the cutter arm I9, the eye engaging the adjacent end of the spring 32 and a nut 40 engageable with the threaded'outer end of the eye and bearing against the cutter arm. It will, therefore, be seen-that the directly connected coil spring 32 and link 30 extend longitudinally of the cutter arm l9 between the upper end of the knife arm 26 and the pivot portion of the cutter arm, and that this means maintains a yielding contact during cutting action between the cutting edges of the knife and the cutting edges of the ledger blade.

In order to reciprocate the movable blade or reciprocations, I have mounted a jack shaft 4| and have connected said shaft to the main shaft 9 through the medium of a reduction gear coupling" preferably having a 2-to-1 ratio. An eccentric pin 43 is removably secured by a set screw as shown'in Figure 1 to the forward end of the jack shaft 4| and is connected by a link 44 to the cutter arm l9. Consequently the movable cutter blade or knife is reciprocated once for every two revolutions of the main shaft 9.

When it is desirable to remove the knife 21 from the cutter arm IS, the latter is first disconnected from the drive shaft 9 by withdrawing the eccentric pin 43 from the jack shaft 4|, and the cutter arm is then swung upwardly. During this upward movement of the cutter arm, the knife will be released from the ledger blade and the coil spring will cause the knife arm to swing forwardly in a jumpy or quick motion, which if not prevented, might injure the workman. To this end, I have mounted on the front end of the cutter arm a manually operable means adapted for engagement with the knife arm to move the latter positively and rearwardly out of its cooperative relation with the ledger blade and to retain said arm in its adjusted or inoperative position. In Figures 1 to 6, I have shown a cam 45 fixed to a horizontal shaft 46 journaled in a bearing formed in a lug 41 which is integral with and extends forwardly from the front end of the cutter arm, the cam being disposed in front of the knife arm and normally in spaced relation thereto as shown in Figures 3 and 6. A hand lever 48 is on the base to swing about on the overhanging arm I of the machine frame clamped to the projecting end of the cam shaft by a nut 49 and a stop 50 fixed to the cutter arm limits the movement of the lever in one direction.

When the lever is swung upwardly, the cam will be rotated and engaged with the cutter arm below the pivot thereof to move the arm rearwardly and to retain the same in its adjusted position. The cutter arm can then be swung upwardly and the cam will prevent the knife from jumping for-'- wardly. After another knife has been attached to the knife arm, the cutter arm is swung downwardly and the lever is returned to its normal position against the stop, thereby permitting the coil spring and link to function.

In Figures 7 and 8, I have illustrated a modified construction wherein a plate 5| is positioned across the knife arm and is rigidly secured to the front end of the cutter arm by screws 52. A manually operable screw 53 is threadably mounted in the plate to engage the knife arm below the pivot thereof. Normally the screw 53 is spaced from the knife arm, but when it is desired to safeguard the workman as explained above, the screw is turned until they knife arm ismoved rearwardly out of contact with the ledger blade.

In Figures 9 and 10 a further modification is disclosed wherein a screw 54 is threadably engaged in the front end of the cutter arm, a portion of the head 55 of the screw overlapping the knife arm. Preferably a recess 56 is formed in the cutter arm to receive the head 55 when the screw is being actuated to move the knife arm rearwardly.

It is of course to be understood that the details of structure and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:--

1. Apinking mechanism for sewing machines comprising a base, a stationary ledger blade having converging cutting edges, a cutter arm pivoted a horizontal axis, a knife having converging cutting edges for cooperation with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, the apices of the cutting edges of the knife pivot of the cutter arm, means for mounting the knife on the free end of the arm for movements towards and from the apex of the ledger blade, and the knife during cutting movements thereof in yielding engagement with the cutting edges of the ledger blade comprising a directly connected coil spring and link to the knife and the outer end of the spring being connected to the pivot end of the arm.

2. A pinking mechanism for sewingmachines comprising a base, ing converging cutting edges, a cutter arm pivoted on the base to swing about a horizontal axis, a knife having converging cutting edges for cooperation with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, the apices of the cutting edges of the knife and blade projecting in a direction away from the directly connected coil spring and link extending means for maintaining the cutting edges of a stationary ledger blade hav- 45 and blade projecting in a direction away from the' extending longitudinally of .r the arm, the outer end of the link being connected pivot of the cutter arm,

longitudinally of the arm, the outer end of the link being connected to the upper end of the knife arm and the outer end of the spring being connected to the pivot end of the arm.

3. A pinking mechanism for sewing machines comprising a base, a stationary ledger blade having converging cutting edges, a cutter arm pivoted on the base to swing about a horizontal axis, a knife having converging cutting edges for cooperation with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, the apices of the cutting edges of the knife and blade projecting in a direction away from the pivot of the cutter arm, means for mounting the knife on the free towards and from the apex of the ledger blade, and means for maintaining the cutting edges of the knife during cutting movements thereof in yielding engagement with the cutting edges of the ledger blade comprising a directly connected coil spring and link extending longitudinally of the arm, the outer end of the link being connected to the knife and the. outer end of the spring being connected to the pivot end of the arm, said-link being formed from flat spring steel, and the connection between the spring and the link comprising an extension piece clamped to the adjacent end of the link and engageable with the adjacent end of the spring.

4. A pinking mechanism for sewing machines comprising a base, a stationary ledger blade having converging cutting edges, a cutter arm pivoted on the base to swing about a horizontal axis,

a knife having converging cutting edges for caoperation with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, the apices of the cutting edges of the knife and blade projecting in a direction away from the pivot of the cutter arm, means for mounting the knife on the free end of the arm for movements towards and from the apex of the ledger blade, means for maintaining the cutting edges of the knife during cutting movements thereof in yielding engagement with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, and manually operable means mounted on the free end of the cutter arm and engageable with the knife mounting means for moving the knife towards the pivot of the cutter arm and for retaining said knife out of operative relation with the ledger blade.

5. A pinking mechanism for sewing machines comprising a base, a stationary ledger blade having converging cutting edges, a cutter arm pivoted on the base to swing about a horizontal axis, a knife having converging cutting edges for cooperation with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, the apices of the cutting edges of the knife and blade projecting in a direction away from the means for mounting the knife on the free end of the arm for movements towards and from the apex of the ledger blade, means for maintaining the cutting edges of the knife during cutting movements thereof in yielding engagement with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, and a manually rotatable cam mounted on the free end of the cutter arm and engageable with the knife mounting means for moving the knife towards the pivot of the cutter arm and for retaining said knife out of operative relation with the ledger blade.

6. A pinking mechanism for sewing machines comprising a base, a stationary ledger blade havend of the arm for movements ing converging cutting edges, a cutter arm pivoted on the base to swing about a horizontal axis, a knife having converging cutting edges for cooperation with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, the apices of the cutting edges of the knife and blade projecting in a direction away from the pivot of the cutter arm, a vertically disposed knife arm pivoted intermediate its ends on the free end of the cutter arm to swing about a pivot disposed in parallelism with the pivot of the cutter arm, the knife being mounted on the knife arm below the pivot thereof, means for maintaining the cutting edges of the knife during cutting movements thereof in yielding engagement with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, and manually operable means mounted on the free end of the cutter arm and engageable with the knife arm for swinging the knife towards the pivot of the cutter arm and for retaining said knife out of operative relation with the ledger blade.

7. A pinking mechanism for sewing machines comprising a base, a stationary ledger blade having converging cutting edges, a cutter arm pivoted on the base to swing about a horizontal axis, a knife having converging cutting edges for cooperation with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, the apices of the cutting edges of the knife and blade projecting in a direction away from the pivot of the cutter arm, a vertically disposed knife arm pivoted intermediate its ends on the free end of the cutter arm to swing about a pivot disposed in parallelism with the pivot of the cutter arm, the knife being mounted on the knife arm below the pivot thereof, means for maintaining the. cutting edges of the knife during cutting movements thereof in yielding engagement with the cutting edges of the ledger blade. and a manually rotatable cam mounted on the free end of the cutter arm and engageable with the knife arm for swinging the knife towards the pivot of the cutter arm and for retaining said knife out of operative relation with the ledger blade.

8. A pinking mechanism for sewing machines comprising a base, a stationary ledger blade having converging cutting edges, a cutter arm pivoted on the base to swing about a horizontal axis,

a knife having converging cutting edges for 00- operation with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, the apices of the cutting edges of the knife and blade projecting in a direction away from the pivot of the cutter arm, a vertically disposed knife arm pivoted intermediate its ends on the free end of the cutter arm to swing about a pivot disposed in parallelism with the pivot of the cutter arm, the knife being mounted on the knife arm below the pivot thereof, means for maintaining the cutting edges of the knife during cutting movements thereof in yielding engagement with the cutting edges of the ledger blade, and a screw threadably supported on the free end of the cutter arm and engageable with the knife arm for swinging the knife towards the pivot of the cutter arm and for retaining said knife out of operative relation with the ledger blade, the longitudinal axis of the screw being in a plane at right angles to the pivot of the knife arm. 

